or figurative language (e.g., The wind whispered through the night.) produce shades of meaning and
different effects on readers. Students work with peers to arrive at these explanations initially, and then
as students gain confidence with this type of analysis, they work more independently.
Teachers use Part II of the CA ELD Standards as a guide for showing ELs how different text types
are organized and structured (e.g., how a story is structured or where in an argument evidence is
presented) or how language is used purposefully to make meaning (e.g., how sentences are combined
to show relationships between ideas). For example, a science teacher identifies a particular sentence
in the science textbook that is challenging for students but critical for understanding the topic. The
teacher leads a discussion in which the class unpacks the informationally dense sentence for its
meaning using more everyday language. Figure 2.20 presents an example. (Note: the main clause is
in italics.)Figure 2.20. Sentence UnpackingOriginal sentence:
“Although many countries are addressing pollution, environmental degradation continues
to create devastating human health problems each year.”
Meanings:- Pollution is a big problem around the world.
- People are creating pollution and ruining the environment.
- The ruined environment leads to health problems in people.
- Health problems are still happening every year.
- The health problems are really, really bad.
- A lot of countries are doing something about pollution.
- Even though the countries are doing something about pollution, there are still big
problems.
What this sentence is mostly about: Environmental degradation
What it means in our own words: People are creating a lot of pollution and messing up the
environment all around the world, and even though a lot of countries are trying to do things
about it, a lot of people have big health problems because of it.
This type of analysis demystifies academic language and provides a model students can use to
tackle the often challenging language they encounter in their school texts. As students become more
comfortable discussing language, teachers guide them to analyze language more deeply based on
lesson objectives and students’ age and proficiency levels. For example, teachers discuss with their
students the density of information packed into the term environmental degradation and examine
why the writer used it instead of the word pollution. Teachers also discuss how using the subordinate
conjunction although creates a relationship of concession between the two ideas in the main and
subordinate clauses and how connecting ideas in this way is particularly useful—and common—in
academic writing.
Using the CA ELD Standards to conduct these types of analyses ensures that all ELs are engaged
with intellectually rich content and are able to read texts closely with scaffolding adapted to their
particular language learning needs.
112 | Chapter 2 Essential Considerations